Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (102 page)

“Yeah.”

“Well,
you
don’t
have
to
agree
quite
that
quickly,”
she
said,
attempting
a
weak
joke.
“Look,
I
don’t
want
to
use
this
as
an
emotional
whip,
but
I’m
going
to
say
it
this
time
because
I
think
it’s
really
important
for
you
to
think
about
before
this
thing
you
have
in
your
heart
grows
too
big
to
conquer
easily.
You
are
Allie
Stuart’s
son.
She
taught
you
to
love
your
family,
to
respect
your
elders,
and
to
obey
those
in
authority.
She
taught
you
to
love
and
serve
the
Lord
Jesus.
If
you
can’t
obey
for
me,
you
really
should
do
it
for
her.”

He
didn’t
respond.
She
tried
to
encourage
him
to
look
at
her—to
see
what
his
pain
was
doing
to
all
of
them,
but
Laird
stared
at
a
small
plastic
piece
on
the
desk
as
if
it
was
a
lifeline
to
whatever
he
wanted
to
hold
onto.
After
a
minute,
she
stood,
squeezed
his
shoulder,
and
started
to
leave
the
room.

At
the
door,
a
sniffle
made
her
pause,
but
following
instinct,
she
kept
going.
A
sound
reached
her
as
she
turned
to
take
the
first
steps
down
the
stairs
,
and
she
turned
in
time
to
feel
him
slam
her
into
the
wall
in
his
rush.
“I’m
sorry,
Aunt
Aggie.
I’m
so
sorry.”

~*~*~*~

“Tina
was
right,”
Aggie
told
Luke
over
the
phone
that
evening.
“He
lost
respect
for
me
when
I
dumped
it
on
you
like
that.
I
almost
called
for
help
,
but
then
I
remembered
the
apology
idea
and
tried
that
first.
I’m
glad
I
did.”

“You
could
have
called
for
help,
Aggie.
I
could
have
prayed
if
nothing
else.”

“But
see,”
she
protested,
“Tina
was
right.
Calling
for
help
just
makes
things
worse.
It
got
better
when
I
handled
it
on
my
own.”

“I
don’t
think
that’s
what
she
meant.
I
think
she
was
trying
to
say
that
you
can’t
just
turn
it
over
to
someone
else
and
remove
yourself
from
the
picture.
You’ve
asked
for
help
before,
and
they
know
it.
But
you
did
what
needed
to
be
done.”

“Oh.”

“You
ok?”

“I’m
feeling
a
bit
overwhelmed,
and
you
should
know
that
I
might
be
calling
the
school
tomorrow.”

“Why?”

This
was
it.
If
she
spoke
it
,
she
knew
she’d
feel
like
she
must
make
the
call.
“I’m
considering
enrolling
them.
They’d
only
be
a
week
or
two
behind
at
best.”

“Are
you
sure
you
want
to
do
that?”

She
wasn’t
sure
of
anything
of
the
kind,
but
Aggie
did
feel
as
if
it
was
necessary.
If
the
children
were
going
to
resist
doing
the
work,
it’d
be
better
for
them
to
be
where
they
already
had
respect.
She
could
work
on
it
later.
“I
wasn’t
sure
… that’s why I brought it up.
I
might
just
enroll
Vannie
and
Laird,
but
maybe
it’s
best
if
I
just
enroll
them
all.”